Facebook removes 53 accounts hostile to Sudanese government
July 10, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – Social media giant Facebook removed 53 accounts used to spread fake news hostile to the transitional government according to a report released on Thursday.
Facebook has become the first tool for the Sudanese Islamists and other anti-democratic groups that used to regularly campaign against the government of Abdallah Hamdok, which struggles to achieve key economic reforms after ending Sudan’s international isolation.
In its monthly report about fake news and negative propaganda, Facebook said they removed accounts suspected of coordinated inauthentic behaviour targeting the Sudanese audience on Facebook.
“We removed 53 Facebook accounts, 51 Pages, three Groups, and 18 Instagram accounts in Sudan that targeted domestic audiences,” reads the June 2021 Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report released by Facebook.
According to Facebook, some accounts were associated with a Sudanese political group called the Future Movement for Reform and Development.
The investigation on accounts linked to Sudan was conducted in collaboration with Valent Projects, a U.S. group specialised in counter- disinformation campaigns.
The social media said they found this network after reviewing information about some of its activity shared by researchers at Valent Projects.
The Sudanese Information Ministry on 8 July issued they heard a counter-disinformation company to investigate information websites that used to spread fake news hostile to the government.
According to the ministry, the purpose of this contract was to set up a strategy to counter the fake news and to understand the audience of the anti-government campaigns.
The statement comes after a decision by the General attorney to ban about 30 websites known for publishing fake news or advertising for the former regime.
(ST)